Retired Sports Stars- What they did after retirement

We see sports stars out on the field all the time. They’re sports stars, it’s what they do! We watch them and cheer them on. We celebrate when they win and are crushed when they are defeated. They represent cities and countries in various games. But what do they do when they hang up the jerseys and cleats? Where do they go? Sometimes we see them in endorsements, and many of them enter the sports media business. They may even make it into the Hall of Fame for their sport. But besides all those things, what do sports stars do after retirement?

Terry Bradshaw

Terry Bradshaw is a Hall of Fame NFL Quarterback. He played for the Pittsburgh Steelers for 13 years, and won four Super Bowls: the first quarterback, and one of just three (along with Joe Montana and Tom Brady) ever to do so. His Steelers repeated as Super Bowl Champions twice, winning Super Bowls IX and X, then XIII and XIV. He threw 212 touchdown passes in his career. He retired in 1983.

Bradshaw started his post-football career by signing a broadcasting contract with CBS in 1984 as a color commentator. In 1990, he started his career in the television studio with “The NFL Today,” and now “Fox NFL Sunday,” where you can see him on Sundays analyzing games and making predictions with Dan Marino (another QB-gone-broadcaster), Howie Long, Curt Menefee, and Jimmie Johnson.

Steve Kerr

Steve Kerr won five NBA Championships during his time as a player. He won three with the Chicago Bulls alongside Michael Jordan, then two more with the San Antonio Spurs. He has the highest three-point shot percentage of any player in NBA history with 45.4%. He retired after winning his fifth ring, his second with the Spurs, in 2003. Since then, he has gone onto broadcasting at TNT. He was also involved in an investing group which bought the Phoenix Suns in 2004, and was the General Manager from 2008-2010, before stepping down and returning to TV. In 2014, he accepted the Head Coaching job with the Golden State Warriors for the 2014-2015 season. He then became the first rookie head coach to win an NBA Championship since Pat Riley in 1982, and broke the regular season record for most wins in a rookie head coaching year with a total of 67 wins.

David Beckham

Bend it like Beckham! David Beckham is arguably one of the most universally recognized soccer players of all time. He has played in England (Manchester United), Italy (AC Milan), France (Paris St. Germain), Spain (Real Madrid), and the United States (LA Galaxy). He holds the all-time record for appearances for the England National Team by a non-goalkeeper. He won championships in every country he played in except for Italy, and was known around the globe for his bending free kicks and crosses.

After retiring from soccer at the end of the 2013-2014 season, Beckham exercised a clause in his contract with the LA Galaxy from 2007 saying that he can buy an MLS expansion team for $25 million. Since then, he’s been one of the primary investors in MLS Miami, and is waiting for a stadium to be approved and constructed before joining Major League Soccer.

George Foreman

George Foreman is one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time. He went 76-5 in his career, including a win over then-undefeated Joe Frazier. He retained his title twice before losing to Muhammad Ali in the 1974 “Rumble in the Jungle.” He has been inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame and the International Boxing Hall of Fame. He retired in 1997 after becoming the Heavyweight boxer to win a title at age 45 in 1994.

After retiring from boxing, he endorsed what became the George Foreman Grill, which has sold over 100 million units worldwide. He also served as a ringside analyst for HBO for 12 years, but is mainly known for his punches in the ring and his entrepreneurship afterwards.

Steve Young

Steve Young is another NFL Hall of Fame quarterback who chose a second career after retirement. Young won a Super Bowl with the San Francisco 49ers years after inheriting the starting job from Joe Montana. He won two NFL MVP awards and was the MVP of Super Bowl XXIX. He has one of the highest passer ratings in NFL history, and holds records for most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback and third most rushing yards by a quarterback.

After retiring from the gridiron in 1999 due to multiple concussions, Young received a Jurius Doctor (J.D.) degree from BYU’s J. Reuben Clark Law School, allowing him to practice law. He now serves as managing director of HGGC, a private equity firm.

Dwayne The Rock Johnson

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is a bit different from the rest of the athletes on this list. He’s probably most widely known as one of the best WWE wrestlers of all time. He had 17 championship reigns in WWE, and consistently drew top box office results. He also played football for the University of Miami Hurricanes in 1991 and won a National Championship.

After retiring from WWE, The Rock went on to the career we know him for now, acting in films. He is one of the mainstays of the “Fast and Furious” franchise and has appeared in many other films, including “Get Smart” and “The Other Guys.”

Michael Jordan

Last on our list of retired sports stars is Michael Jordan. Widely considered to be one of the top (if not the best) NBA players of all time, Jordan won six NBA Championships with the Chicago Bulls. He also has five MVP’s, six Finals MVP’s, 14 All-Star designations, and the all-time scoring record for the Bulls and the NBA playoffs. He is also an NCAA Champion from his days at North Carolina.

His Airness stays as relevant after retirement as he was before. He is now majority owner and chairman of the Charlotte Hornets, which he rebranded back to the “Hornets” after they had been changed to the “Bobcats,” bringing Buzz City back to Charlotte. He is the league’s only African-American majority owner, and the first player to own the majority of a team. He is also the face of Nike’s “Air Jordan” brand, which regularly produces basketball shoes.

Retired Sports Stars

Sports stars often go on to careers after their time on the field (or court, or ring). Often, they become a part of the media, and continue their endorsements. Many of them also contribute to society with charities and public speaking. It goes to show that there are more to these athletes than what you see on TV, and they often go on to succeed in something other than playing. It is also a great example of living an awesome life after retirement.

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